Tottenham’s first Premier League away victory in 10 months was snatched from them by a last-gasp header from Tosun that may well have saved Marco Silva’s job as manager of Everton. It all seemed pointless as André Gomes was stretchered off and taken to Aintree Hospital with a serious leg-break, with players on both sides unable to look at the injured Spaniard as he was treated.
Mauricio Pochettino’s and Silva’s problems became a thing of the past on a dismal night.
Tosun saw his side avoid a sixth loss in seven top-flight games by converting a Lucas Digne cross deep into stoppage time, a goal largely down to Gomes’ bad luck. The Portugal international was sent sprawling from a cynical foul by Son, though it was a mix of an unfortunate landing and a collision with Aurier that resulted in a dislocated fracture of his right ankle, which will require surgery on Monday.
The Spurs striker was booked by the referee, Martin Atkinson, and VAR then showed him a red card for “endangering a player’s safety which occurred as a result of the initial challenge”, according to a statement from the Premier League.
The striker was left in tears as he walked off to a chorus of boos from the Goodison Park supporters, who, to be fair, had no chance to review the incident. VAR also made a number of unhelpful interventions in an otherwise poor match, taking just three minutes to rule that Spurs striker Dele Alli did not handle inside his penalty area.
Everton had failed to take advantage of VAR in their defeat at Brighton the week before, and Silva acknowledged that his exhortations for players to “respect the referee” were “trying too hard”. All that mattered, though, was that Gomes, a slick player and a warm and engaging character, now faces a lengthy recovery period.
Pochettino was right when he said Son’s red card cost his team the game, but there are some things you don’t want to say.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said “Son is doing better, but that wasn’t the point. The players from Everton, including their captain, Séamus Coleman, came to speak to him and I appreciate that. Everyone on the pitch knew what happened but didn’t think it was deliberate. We wish Andrei and his family all the best in this difficult time. We need VAR to look at whether it was a poor tackle from Son, which was terrible for Andrei, but look at what happened next, not what happened first. Referees need help, they need to look at the screen. In the end, the decision changes everything, we had the game under control, we thought we would win the game and then we gave up a goal. It’s incredible that he gets a red card, and I’m not sure if we can appeal it.”
The video assistant referee (VAR) checked for a penalty on Alli and a second yellow card on Mina for a foul on Son, but none was awarded. The VAR also looked at a professional foul from Davinson Sanchez against Richarlison, but again nothing was awarded. Son’s red card is the only decision overturned by the referee. “André will get all the help he needs,’ said Koeman. “I’m sure he will grow up to be a better person and a better football player. We know the players are sad, but the fight we showed was great. It was one of the worst moments of our season.
The introduction of VAR, the match-winner, and Atkinson sparked more excitement in Goodison than in the first hour of the game itself. The few opportunities created in that period fell to the visitors, who, according to a statement released on Sunday evening, are also looking into an alleged racist incident involving a supporter during the game.
Gomes went to ground at full-time, having seen Theo Walcott release him on the left-hand side and the former Arsenal striker curl a cross into the far corner of the goal. Gomes also played a key role in the home side’s first move of the game, changing play from right-to-left for Digne, who then found Richarlison in space and the Brazilian turned sharply to shoot, but the ball went straight at Paulo Gasaniga.
The Spurs goalkeeper saved magnificently from Richarlison in the early stages of the second half, and it all came to a head when the visitors capitalised on a huge mistake by Alex Iwobi. The former Arsenal forward was under little pressure in his own half, and played a reckless pass straight to Son, who pounced on the loose ball.
Iwobi buried his head in despair, and he was right to be. As Son released Alli down the left, the England playmaker, who had been quiet up to this point, burst into life as he dribbled inside Mason Holgate and found the bottom corner past Jordan Pickford.
The evening took a turn for the worse when Gomes went down with a nasty injury. Substitute Tosun, who had been brought on as a late substitute, capitalised on Everton’s professional response by smashing a header into the top corner. But Tosun’s thoughts were elsewhere when the final whistle blew. “We are all very sad,” he said, “some of the players were almost crying. He was so shocked, his eyes were so big, he was crying, screaming and screaming. I went to him and I just held him and I told him to stay calm, we didn’t understand what was going on.”
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